Life is Like a Kudu Horn - Margaret Jacobsohn

 A memoir of dedication and adventure in northwest Namibia. Jacobsohn and a small number of what she dubs the "lunatic fringe" forged a new path for community conservation in this post-apartheid country.

See the full review here.

Cities of the Plain - Cormac McCarthy

Third of the Border Trilogy and the end of the story of John Grady Cole and Billy Parnham. Back and forth across the border of Mexico as a way of life is disappearing. Great scenes chasing dogs along canyon rims, horses in the barn at night, and the lingering of Billy.

Nixonland - Rick Perlstein

 Perlstein convincingly argues that the 1960s, so often treated as the period when the counter-culture exploded and America was transformed, is better understood as a period of backlash and division. How, Perlstein asks, did American go from electing Democrat Lyndon Johnson by an overwhelming margin in 1964 to giving Richard Nixon a reelection landslide in 1972? The answer he provides is that during this period America was riven by generational, political, economic, security, and class conflicts that created political divisions that persist. Into this period of uncertainty and insecurity stepped the master political manipulator - Richard Nixon.

Perlstein's argument is really that conservative backlash, more than liberal or progressive transformation, is the more complete and accurate way to account for American politics in the latter-half of the twentieth century. Given that the divides he examines feel entirely relevant and contemporary (even though the book was written more than 15 years ago) is testament to his argument. I was thoroughly convinced. This, in combination with Perlstein's highly-readable prose makes this a great work of social and political history.

Frontiers - Noel Mostert

 Mostert interprets South African history as pivoting on the events collectively known as the Frontier Wars along the eastern boundary of the Cape Colony in the early to mid-nineteenth century. As a contribution to the historiography of (de)colonialism, Mostert's detail reveals that the subjugation of South Africa by the British empire was not a fait accompli. Along the frontier at the Kei River and Zuurveld, the Xhosa people were caught between the hammer of the British and anvil of the Zulu. Within this tenuous zone were also Boers, missionaries, traders, settlers, and fluctuating political alliances among and between all players that did not remain static.

Invasion may at least partially describe what the Xhosa experienced. While they, as well as the Khoe-San and Zulu, had long inhabited the region, when Europeans arrived they enforced their rules and norms. Yet, one of the chief political difficulties was that powerful Europeans, such as military men and governors, frequently did not stick around for very long. This, in combination with the dynamic political winds back in London, meant that colonial policies seemingly changed from year to year. Cattle raiding could be tolerated and then punished, with little forewarning. One of the interesting aspects is Mostert's implicit contention that by the time of the millenaria predictions in the 1850s, the Xhosa world had already been transformed beyond recognition.

This is a useful reference for understanding the forge of South African hitory and the ways in which the Cape encapsulated much of mid-nineteenth century globalization. It pulses with interesting characters and is a careful work of compelling scholarship. 

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn

Hard to believe that it has been more than ten years since I last read this. Within certain circles Ishmael and other works by Quinn have taken on almost mythic status. Its about a gorilla, who tells one man that there have been other ways for people to live on this planet; ways that may not hasten human and ecological demise. The main insight, that different ways of seeing and being are important, feels particularly relevant. A book to return to, again and again.

The Overstory - Richard Powers

Intersecting and interwoven rings of a story, much like the lives of trees, and the ecosystems they form a part of and support, feedback upon and form one another. Power's novel is a beautiful evocation of how people begin to see the world in another way - and the effects of this different type of vision. Barbara Kingsolver called it a 'fable' and she is right. It could serve as a fable for people moving into a different type of relationship with a world that is older than our own. It is not perfect. But it is an important voice for thinking about the world and our affect on it. Something to return to again and again. A motivating story for another way of being.

The Descent - Jeff Long

What if a subterranean, parallel world existed, and has always existed below our feet? What if we had glimpsed this world periodically, and passed word of it through time - alternately rediscovering and forgetting it? As communication and technology grows apace we might rediscover this world and even explore it. What might we find there and about ourselves in the process?

Long's novel begins with a simple premise: Hell exists. Not the spooky realm of pain and suffering, but a specific, geological, geographic, and biologically-rich place. It is inhabited by humanoids simultaneously similar and dissimilar from our own world. An adventure story, Long sends a group of scientists and explorers deep into the Earth in search of Hell and even Satan. A fun and sometimes terrifying exploration in the world that we imagine exists below us. Re-read after a long time.